Let Us Fall

Ripened apples, falling leaves, dwindling light, crackling fires, cooler breezes… these are all marks of the seasonal shift to Fall that is in the air in New England. We could lament the loss of Summer, or lean into welcoming more time to lean in to the dark, to cozy up, prepare soups, and allow for a natural cyclical pause. Nature so beautifully and willingly allows the changes to take place… leaves blaze their gorgeous colors and then gracefully fall down to the earth, without any hint of trying to climb back up again. What if we too were able to cycle through these shifts, be it seasonal, emotional, relational with less gripping, resistance, and fear.

What if Fall was here to teach us to do just that… willingly fall? What can we learn from loosening our grip and allowing? What can we learn to let go of that may no longer be serving us? What if we realized we have choice in the way we choose to live? Can we let go and fall into a new sense of knowing and being? Poet Dana Faulds offers her words to reflect on:

“Let go of the ways you thought life would unfold;
the holding of plans or dreams or expectations – Let it all go.
Save your strength to swim with the tide.
The choice to fight what is here before you now will only result in struggle,
fear, and desperate attempts to flee from the very energy you long for.
Let go. Let it all go and flow with the grace that washes
through your days whether you receive it gently or with all your
quills raised to defend against invaders.
Take this on faith: the mind may never find the explanations that it seeks,
but you will move forward nonetheless.
Let go, and the wave’s crest will carry you to unknown shores,
beyond your wildest dreams or destinations.
Let it all go and find the place of rest and peace,
and certain transformation.”
– Dana Faulds

Holding on… to perfection, to certainty, to right, to wrong, to youth, to weight, to habits, to loved ones, to children, to old stories, to pain, to emotions. As a culture we are gripping. Is the grip courageous? Perhaps it takes even more courage to allow ourselves to let go; to allow ourselves to admit we were wrong; to fall to our knees in front of an audience; to say I am sorry; to admit we do not know; to listen to what our bodies really need and want, to speak from our heart.

It is the vulnerable moments of honesty, truth, and raw emotion that knit us together as one living tapestry.

“If we are brave enough, often enough, we will fall; this is the physics of vulnerability. Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.” – Brene Brown

We will fall. So… let us fall. Fall into the Season, fall into knowing ourselves more clearly, fall in love… with all things. And, perhaps falling will allow for our greatest flight and sense of freedom.

Enjoy the fall,

Genell

P.s. And… one more quote to have you cozy up with this fall. Thanks to Skye for posting on Instagram.

“There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask, “What if I fall?”
Oh but my darling,
What if you fly?” – Erin Hanson